Holliday To The A's!

[Sportsmack 0]

Good trade for both teams...Welcome to Oakland Mr. Holliday!!!!A's trade for Holliday

[gobears 0]

For a one year rental of Holliday, we gave up Carlos Gonzalez, Greg Smith and Street. I'm ok with Street since Devine/Ziegler can do the job but giving up Gonzo is tough. The A's must not think he will pan out into a star or higher. Smith looked good too last year in his first year.Guess we won't know until next season if this trade is a good one.

[BigDMcGee 3,353]

I don't really understand this trade. Do the A's think they can win next year? if not, why rent Holliday?Maybe they are trying to buy low and sell high on him, trading him at the deadline for something more than they gave colorado. They can't be considering signing him, could they?

[Speed Limit 0]

[Sportsmack 0]

For a one year rental of Holliday, we gave up Carlos Gonzalez, Greg Smith and Street. I'm ok with Street since Devine/Ziegler can do the job but giving up Gonzo is tough. The A's must not think he will pan out into a star or higher. Smith looked good too last year in his first year.Guess we won't know until next season if this trade is a good one.

Not sure if "good" is the word I would use to describe GS, but he was okay. Considering the rest of the rotation though, yeah I guess he looked good? Definitely would not start for a majority of teams in baseball. As far as CarGo goes, he looked good and I like him a lot, but I think it's a relatively small price to pay for Holliday if we decide to sign him to a long-term. Yeah, I know it's a BIG "if", but I can't see any other reason for doing this trade. Holliday is either here to sweeten the new stadium deal, or the A's truly believe they can win next year. And given that I don't think option #2 is viable, I gotta believe he's here for the long term.

I don't really understand this trade. Do the A's think they can win next year? if not, why rent Holliday?Maybe they are trying to buy low and sell high on him, trading him at the deadline for something more than they gave colorado. They can't be considering signing him, could they?

I hope they're considering it. If not, giving up Gonzalez is risky.

[PMJackson21 0]

I heard something/somewhere about them being one of the top contenders to sign Furcal as well.Bring Giambi back, pick up Holliday, and sign Furcal - that gives you a decent line up.

[KowboyKoop 0]

Not sure I like it. The A's offense was incredibly bad at times last year......I can't see Holliday being the piece that makes them contenders. We'll see though....a lot of young players who, if they all got a lot better next year..I guess you never know. We'll see if the A's try to flip Holliday at the deadline and what they can get back..probably not near as much as they gave up.

[runthemover 39]

probably not near as much as they gave up.

disagree about that. How often does Billy Beane make bad decisions about players?you can't go wrong with a guy like Holliday because he's going to hit .310+either he'll make the team better and Beane'll sign him or he won sign and he'll get a good deal for him at the deadline. remember that deadline deals get you a lot in baseball because moreso than other sports it's not just about getting the guy to put you over the top, it's also about stopping the other teams from getting him, and because so few teams are contending.

[Tactical Bear 3]

I don't really understand this trade. Do the A's think they can win next year? if not, why rent Holliday?Maybe they are trying to buy low and sell high on him, trading him at the deadline for something more than they gave colorado. They can't be considering signing him, could they?

It's both. The front office probably thinks they have some chance to contend next year (the Angels suck), and if they can't, Beane will flip Holliday to a contender and recoup some of what they lost giving up Davis and Gonzo. They also need to put a contender together quick so they can build a new stadium and whatnot

[KowboyKoop 0]

disagree about that. How often does Billy Beane make bad decisions about players?you can't go wrong with a guy like Holliday because he's going to hit .310+either he'll make the team better and Beane'll sign him or he won sign and he'll get a good deal for him at the deadline. remember that deadline deals get you a lot in baseball because moreso than other sports it's not just about getting the guy to put you over the top, it's also about stopping the other teams from getting him, and because so few teams are contending.

Well, I'd say the return he got on Harden/Gaudin is questionable. Sean Gallagher should be good..but Eric Patterson, Matt Murton and Josh Donaldson are far from impressive. I'd say that trade wasn't very good..at least it's not looking like it. As for Holliday...I don't think he'll just be able to sign him. Holliday is a Boras client...the chances of him NOT testing FA are extremely slim. Highly unlikely that they'll be able to sign Holliday to an extension. As for a deadline deal..it's not that Beane won't be able to get anything for him..but he's not going to be able to get as many good players as he just gave away. The Indians got one stud prospect and then a few other "meh" prospects for Sabathia..and Holliday won't have near the value Sabathia had at the upcoming deadline.Holliday clearly makes the A's better this year..no debate about that...but it'll most likely only be for 2/3 of a season....so we'll just have to see what they get in return at the deadline....I anticipate it'll be a little disappointing.

[Sportsmack 0]

Well, I'd say the return he got on Harden/Gaudin is questionable. Sean Gallagher should be good..but Eric Patterson, Matt Murton and Josh Donaldson are far from impressive. I'd say that trade wasn't very good..at least it's not looking like it.

How dare he make a bad trade. Fire him now!!!

[KowboyKoop 0]

How dare he make a bad trade. Fire him now!!!

Maybe two now. Better start looking for a replacement.

[FARGOpokerND 22]

So on a related note...what does this do to affect any potential trade involving Atkins?Are they going to still keep him on the block, or are they going to try and resign him?Twins looked like early front-runners for him, and I loved the prospect of him as a Twin.

[Tactical Bear 3]

Holliday's home/road splits have to be a concern for the A's. His OPS is 265 points higher at home than on the road. The greater concern is probably his power numbers. His Isolated Patience at home is .066, and .068 on the road, but his slugging percentage is 190 points lower on the road. That is not a good sign for anyone. He gets an extra base hit once every 6.57 ABs at home, but only once every 9.80 ABs on the road. Yikes. Coors field is responsible for a ton of his power. Even if we adjust somewhat for the average player's home/road split (which I don't have in front of me) to explain the generic home/away effect, this is still significant. I might be writing this up somewhere else, and if I do I'll post a brief version here.

[CindyLou 11]

Why does everyone assume that Beane will make a deadline deal? If Holliday leaves as a free agent, the A's pick up two extra draft picks. Beane loves draft picks and if he doesn't think the prospects will pan out, why not try to find a way to replace them with better talent while also upgrading your team for a year?

[El Guapo 8]

They also need to put a contender together quick so they can build a new stadium and whatnot

Go Fremont A's!

[Tactical Bear 3]

Why does everyone assume that Beane will make a deadline deal? If Holliday leaves as a free agent, the A's pick up two extra draft picks. Beane loves draft picks and if he doesn't think the prospects will pan out, why not try to find a way to replace them with better talent while also upgrading your team for a year?

He would only make the deal if the prospects he got in return were better than the potential return of the two picks he'd get from letting a Class A free-agent walk. He obviously understands the game, and if the A's are 4 games out and not overperforming (like they were this year) at the break, he'll do the math and roll the dice.

[Moneyball16 0]

I think the trade is fairly even. I love that Oakland sold high on Smith, Id be fairly surprised if he had a ERA under 5 next year, but I kinda wish they could have traded him away for something fairly valuable without trading away Gonzalez. Im unsure about my feelings about trading away Street. I like him as a player alot, but then again the A's still have a good bullpen without him that is also very cheap.As for Holliday I think hes the best corner outfielder in the majors, but getting him for 1 year isnt worth all that much. I believe that the Angels are much more vulnerable than they appear so with Holliday the A's do have a decent chance of winning the division, but Im not sure if sacrificing this much of their future is worth it.Edit. I just checked some stuff and it looks like the A's will have a bullpen with everyone making the league minimum wow.

[Tactical Bear 3]

I think the trade is fairly even. I love that Oakland sold high on Smith, Id be fairly surprised if he had a ERA under 5 next year, but I kinda wish they could have traded him away for something fairly valuable without trading away Gonzalez. Im unsure about my feelings about trading away Street. I like him as a player alot, but then again the A's still have a good bullpen without him that is also very cheap.As for Holliday I think hes the best corner outfielder in the majors, but getting him for 1 year isnt worth all that much. I believe that the Angels are much more vulnerable than they appear so with Holliday the A's do have a decent chance of winning the division, but Im not sure if sacrificing this much of their future is worth it.Edit. I just checked some stuff and it looks like the A's will have a bullpen with everyone making the league minimum wow.

You're not even mildly concerned with Holliday's very underwhelming road numbers when compared to his Coors Field production? I think Holliday is among the best corner outfielders in the game (what's this look like by the way? Holliday, Dunn, Lee, Kemp, Quentin, Braun, Swisher, Markakis, Hermidia, Soriano, Rios, Bay, Burrell, Crawford, ...?), and I think he'll be productive anywhere, but I think the over/under for his OPS is something like .900, and I'd have a strong lean towards the under. He'll get his walks, and he'll drive the ball, but will he SLG .500 away from Coors? I think .400/.500 would be AWESOME year for him. I think he goes .380/.480.

[7s7c 0]

Holliday's home/road splits have to be a concern for the A's. His OPS is 265 points higher at home than on the road. The greater concern is probably his power numbers. His Isolated Patience at home is .066, and .068 on the road, but his slugging percentage is 190 points lower on the road. That is not a good sign for anyone. He gets an extra base hit once every 6.57 ABs at home, but only once every 9.80 ABs on the road. Yikes. Coors field is responsible for a ton of his power. Even if we adjust somewhat for the average player's home/road split (which I don't have in front of me) to explain the generic home/away effect, this is still significant. I might be writing this up somewhere else, and if I do I'll post a brief version here.

Glad someone mentioned this. I think his splits have to be a concern. Not a Vinny Castilla-esque concern...but a pretty valid and large one IMO.

[Moneyball16 0]

I dont really care about home/road splits. I just look at a players stat line then adjust for park effects. This way there is 2x the sample size and it doesn't lead to underrating or overrating a player based off either their home or away stats. Also most players hit better at home then away and in Hollidays case he just has the disadvantage when away of hitting in mostly pitcher parks in the NL West and in his away stats none of them include Coors Field where with every other NL player they would.

[Moneyball16 0]

Also fwiw Id put the over/under on him next year at 289/365/486 in Oakland. It would go up if he was in the NL still or not in a pitchers park. But I also think hes one of the best defensive left fielders in the game and one of the best baserunners. Most people forget this but the dude had 28 stolen bases last year and only 2 times caught stealing.

[Tactical Bear 3]

Also fwiw Id put the over/under on him next year at 289/365/486 in Oakland. It would go up if he was in the NL still or not in a pitchers park. But I also think hes one of the best defensive left fielders in the game and one of the best baserunners. Most people forget this but the dude had 28 stolen bases last year and only 2 times caught stealing.

Have you seen the Bill James base-running numbers on Holliday for the last two years? Or do you have them handy? I was going to look them up, but I'm not around my library, and don't know if the base running metrics get published online. As far as fielding goes, that's probably one of the biggest reasons the Athletics targeted him specifically. The Coliseum is ****ing cavernous, and Holliday will have a lot of ground to cover out there. I think he's been something like 15 runs above average (on average) the last two years or so (but that's off the top of my head). Regardless, he's got lots of range in the outfield, and will cover tons of ground there, offsetting the loss of Gonzales in center.I think his addition gives the A's a real chance to contend in the AL West next year. The Angels fucking suck, and I'm already looking forward to fading them until the public catches on next season.

[Moneyball16 0]

http://baseballprospectus.com/statistics/s....php?cid=421535 Here's some baserunning numbers from Baseball Prospectus. For those to lazy to look at the link he was ranked 6th in baserunning last year, behind only Ichiro, Taveras, Kinsler, Rollins and Reyes. He was just over 8 runs above average.Next year he wont be quite so good at baserunning I imagine due to the fact that he has been just average before this year, but he should still be pretty good.